CN116962157A

CN116962157A - Communication method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN116962157A
Application number: CN202210420944.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王雅莉; 张旭东; 程型清; 王键
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-04-20
Filing date: 2022-04-20
Publication date: 2023-10-27
Also published as: WO2023202106A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application discloses a communication method, a device and a system, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that a first node performs data transmission with a target node based on a first communication link, wherein the first communication link comprises a second node; in the case that the first communication link is not available, the first node performs data transmission with the target node based on a second communication link, the second communication link includes a third node different from the second node, and the second node and the third node belong to a target node group. The method takes the second communication link as a redundant communication link of the first communication link, and is used for providing communication support between the first node and the target node for data transmission when the first communication link is unavailable, so that the communication reliability of the system is improved.

Description

Communication method, device and system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communications method, apparatus, and system.

Background

With the development of automobile electronic technology, vehicle intelligent technology is gradually applied, so that the technology enables the vehicle to be operated more and more simply, has higher dynamic property and economy, and has better running safety, and therefore, the intelligent technology is a trend of vehicle development in the future.

However, these intelligent technologies are often implemented by means of devices, and when these devices cannot communicate, communication interaction via the devices is blocked, and related service data cannot be transmitted, so that some intelligent functions of the vehicle cannot be used.

Therefore, how to ensure the reliability of communication is still an important problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method, a device and a system, which are beneficial to improving the communication reliability of a communication system.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method may be applied to a first node in a communication system, and the communication system may further include a target node. The method may include:

the method comprises the steps that a first node performs data transmission with a target node based on a first communication link, wherein the first communication link comprises a second node;

in the case that the first communication link is unavailable, the first node performs data transmission with the target node based on a second communication link different from the first communication link, the second communication link comprises a third node different from the second node, the second node and the third node belong to a target node group, and the nodes included in the target node group are used for establishing communication connection for the first node and the target node.

By the method, the communication nodes of the communication system can be abstracted into a redundant communication networking architecture, in which a first communication link between a first node and a target node can have a redundant communication link, such as a second communication link, and nodes included in the first communication link and the second communication link can be different or not identical. When the first communication link has an unavailable problem, for example, a certain node contained in the first communication link is unavailable or a certain sub communication link of the first communication link is unavailable, the first node can continue to transmit data by utilizing the second communication link, so that the reliability and stability of the whole communication system are improved.

It will be appreciated that in embodiments of the first aspect of the application, the first node may be a source node of data which may be operable to provide data (e.g. including traffic data and/or control signalling) to the target node via at least one communication link, the first and second communication links each comprising nodes including a routing node located between the source node and the target node on the at least one communication link. Or, the first node may be any node for performing data communication with the target node, and data transmission may be performed between the first node and the target node through at least one communication link, where the first communication link and the second communication link in the at least one communication link may be redundant communication links, so as to ensure reliability of the communication system.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, at least one communication manner may be adopted to perform communication interaction between different nodes in the first communication link/the second communication link, which includes, but is not limited to, wired communication and/or wireless communication. The nodes in the first communication link/the second communication link may have different product forms based on the applied scenario or the implemented service, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application. The first communication link is different from the node comprised by the second communication link, it being understood that there is at least one node difference between the node comprised by the first communication link and the node comprised by the second communication link.

With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the first communication link is not available and is characterized by at least one of the following:

the second node is not available;

in the first communication link, a sub-communication link between the first node and the second node is not available;

in the first communication link, a sub-communication link between the second node and the target node is not available.

By the method, the second node represents any routing node located between the first node and the target node on the first communication link, and the routing node is not available or the sub communication link based on the routing node is not available, which can cause the first communication link to be unavailable. Both cases can be regarded as cases in the embodiment of the present application where the first communication link is not available, so that the first node is triggered to perform data transmission with the target node based on the second communication link.

It will be appreciated that in embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, only one communication node of interest in the communication system is represented by a first node, so that when considering a situation in which the first communication link is unavailable, mainly attention is paid to whether there is an unavailable second node in the first communication link, or whether a sub communication link associated with the second node is available is considered, and the situation causing the first communication link to be unavailable is not limited.

It should be noted that the unavailability of the second node may include, but is not limited to, a failure of the second node or a drop of the second node (e.g., dormant, off, etc.), and the unavailability of the sub-communication link between the first node and the second node may include, but is not limited to: the sub-communication link is broken or the quality of service of the sub-communication link is below a predetermined threshold, etc. The unavailability of a sub-communication link between the second node and the target node may include, but is not limited to: the sub-communication link is broken or the quality of service of the sub-communication link is below a predetermined threshold, etc. The embodiment of the application does not limit the implementation modes that the second node is unavailable, the sub-communication link between the first node and the second node is unavailable or the sub-communication link between the second node and the target node is unavailable.

In the embodiment of the present application, the third node represents any routing node located between the first node and the target node on the second communication link. The second node and the third node may belong to the target node group, and the two nodes are redundant communication nodes, so that when the second node is unavailable or a sub-communication link based on the second node is unavailable, data transmission can be performed between the first node and the target node by using the sub-communication link based on the third node, so as to ensure the communication reliability of the communication system. Alternatively, when the third node is unavailable or a sub-communication link based on the third node is unavailable, data transmission can be performed between the first node and the target node by using the sub-communication link based on the second node, so as to ensure the communication reliability of the communication system.

Wherein different nodes of the target node group may have the same role in the communication system for implementing the same function, or different nodes may have different roles in the communication system for implementing different functions.

For example, the working modes of the target node group may include a primary-standby working mode, in which the second node and the third node may have different function roles for implementing different functions. For example, the second node is a master node, the third node is a standby node, and when data transmission is performed between the first node and the target node based on the first communication link to which the master node belongs, the second communication link based on the standby node is not established, and the second communication link is used as a redundant communication link of the first communication link. In the event that the first communication link is not available, the second communication link may be linked and used for data transmission between the first node and the target node.

For another example, the operation mode of the target node group may include a multi-active operation mode in which the second node and the third node have the same role for implementing the same function. Such as a first communication link based on the second node and a second communication link based on the third node. When the first node performs data transmission between the first communication link and the target node, the first node may perform redundant data transmission between the second communication link and the target node, that is, information transmitted based on the second communication link is the same as information transmitted based on the first communication link. In case the first communication link is not available, the first node may still be able to perform data transmission based on the second communication link and the target node without affecting the continuity of the traffic transmission. Alternatively, the first node may be idle (i.e., unoccupied) while transmitting data between the first communication link and the target node based on the second communication link, rather than being used for redundant transmission of data. In case the first communication link is not available, the first node may continue data transmission based on the second communication link and the target node without affecting the continuity of the traffic transmission.

It may be appreciated that in the embodiment of the present application, roles of the second node and the third node may be interchanged, for example, in a primary-standby working mode, the third node may be a primary node, the second node may be a standby node, and in a case where the second communication link is unavailable and the first communication link is available, the first node may perform data transmission between the first communication link and the target node. In the multiple active mode of operation, both the first communication link and the second communication link are established, and the first node may transmit data based on the first communication link with the target node in the event that the second communication link is not available and the first communication link is available. The active and standby operation modes are merely illustrative of the operation modes of the target node group according to the embodiments of the present application, and not limited to any limitation, and in other embodiments, the target node group may be in other operation modes, which are not described herein.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, one node group may include at least two nodes, and the nodes included in the target node group may not be limited to the second node and the third node. The relationship between the nodes and the node group can be preconfigured, and the device discovery process can be performed between different nodes according to the configuration information of the nodes, so as to determine whether the nodes belong to the same node group. An identity negotiation process may be performed between nodes belonging to the same node group to negotiate to determine the working mode of the node group and the identity of each node in the node group. In the case that the working mode of the node group and the identity of each node in the node group are determined, different nodes of the node group can build links with nodes outside the group (such as a first node, a target node and the like) and perform data transmission according to requirements.

With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the working mode of the target node group is a primary and standby working mode, and the method may further include:

the first node receives first indication information from the third node, wherein the first indication information is used for requesting to switch a master-slave state for the third node;

the first node sends a connection request message to the third node under the condition that the third node is allowed to be switched from the standby node to the main node, wherein the connection request message is used for requesting to establish a sub-communication link between the first node and the third node, and the second communication link comprises the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node.

By the method, the second node can represent a main node, the third node can represent a standby node, and the standby node can be used for monitoring the state of the main node to determine whether the main node is available. In the case that the standby node determines that the current master node is unavailable, the standby node may actively send first indication information to the first node to request to switch the master-standby state for itself, that is, the third node serving as the standby node currently requests to switch to the master node, so as to replace the second node to perform data transmission. The first node may make a control decision according to first indication information from a third node, and determine whether the third node can be allowed to switch from the standby node to the master node. In case it is determined that the third node is allowed to switch from the standby node to the primary node, the first node may establish a link with the third node by sending a connection request message to the third node and perform data transmission based on the established sub-communication link included in the second communication link.

In the embodiment of the present application, the master node and the slave node of the same node group may maintain the master-slave relationship by exchanging the master-slave heartbeat messages, and the slave node may determine that the master node is unavailable when the slave node cannot receive the heartbeat message from the master node (or cannot receive the complete message), for example, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the implementation manner in which the slave node finds whether the master node is unavailable.

With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the first indication information may include a group identifier of the target node group and a round number of the third node for the election master node.

By the above method, for example, the standby node in the target node group may bid to be the master node in an election manner, and the first indication information may carry information for election of the standby node, for example, a round number, so that the first node may make a decision according to the round number contained in the first indication information, and determine whether the standby node may switch the master-standby state, that is, whether the standby node may be upgraded to be the master node, to replace the second node. It may be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the round number is a round number of a node participating in an election master node, and may be incremented along with an election round of the node, and may remain unchanged if the node does not participate in an election, and the round number may be incremented by maintaining a corresponding counting function at the node side.

The election mode is only one implementation mode of switching the active and standby states by the standby node, the round number is also only one example of the election information, and in practical application, the standby node can also request to switch the active and standby states by other modes or other information, which is not limited by the embodiment of the application. In an alternative implementation manner, the first node may compare the round number included in the first indication information with the round number of the current master node, if the round number included in the first indication information is greater than the round number of the current master node, determine that the backup node may be switched to the master node, and if the round number included in the first indication information is less than or equal to the round number of the current master node, determine that the backup node may not be switched to the master node.

In an alternative implementation manner, the first node may send indication information to the current master node to instruct the master node to switch the master-slave state, and switch from the master node to the slave node. In another alternative embodiment, the current master node may also receive the first indication information from the standby node, and compare the round number included in the first indication information with the round number stored locally, and if the round number included in the first indication information is greater than the round number stored locally, the current master node may actively switch the master-standby state, and switch from the master node to the standby node. Therefore, the first node does not need to instruct the second node to switch the main and standby states, signaling interaction can be reduced, and cost is reduced.

With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the first indication information may be included in a broadcast message or a system message from the third node, where the broadcast message or the system message of the third node may further include at least one of the following information of the third node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

By way of example, the first indication information may be carried in a broadcast message or a system message from the third node. Therefore, the primary and standby state switching can be triggered through fewer message interactions between the first node and the third node, and the system overhead is reduced.

With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the working mode of the target node group is a multi-active working mode, and before the first node performs data transmission with the target node based on the first communication link, the method may further include:

the first node receives second indication information from at least two nodes of the target node group, wherein the at least two nodes comprise the second node and the third node;

and the first node establishes a sub-communication link with the at least two nodes according to the second indication information.

By the method, under the multi-activity working mode, the first node can firstly build a chain with at least two nodes of the target node group. The first node can perform data transmission between at least one communication link between the first node and the at least two nodes and the target node, and when one communication link is unavailable, other communication links can be used for performing data transmission between the first node and the target node, so that the problem of service interruption or important data loss caused by sudden failure of a routing node or degradation of service quality of a sub communication link between the first node and the target node can be effectively avoided, and the reliability of the whole communication system is improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the second indication information from each node of the at least two nodes includes a group identifier of the target node group and a node identifier of the node. In an alternative implementation, the second indication information may be included in a broadcast message or a system message from the node, where the broadcast message or the system message of the node further includes at least one of the following information of the node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

By the method, under the multi-activity working mode, each node of the target node group can carry the group identification of the target node group, the node identification of the node and the like in the second indication information sent to the first node, so that the first node can build a link with the node of the target node group based on the second indication information.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method may further include:

the first node updates the communication link information of the first node according to the availability of the sub-communication link between the first node and the second node and the availability of the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node.

By the above method, the first node may maintain its own communication link information, which may be recorded with information of sub communication links associated with the first node, for example information of sub communication links between the first node and at least two nodes of the target node group. In the case that a certain communication link is not available, the first node may update its own communication link information synchronously, for example, delete the link information of the unavailable sub-communication link, or add the link information of the newly-built sub-communication link, so that the first node may continue to perform subsequent communication interaction based on the updated communication link information.

With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation manner, a first communication technology is adopted by a sub-communication link between the first node and the second node, and the first communication technology is a wired communication technology or a first wireless communication technology. In another possible implementation, the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node employs a second communication technology, the second communication technology being a second wireless communication technology different from the first wireless communication technology. Wherein the first wireless communication technology and the second wireless communication technology may be the same or different. For example, the short-range wireless communication technologies may be the star-to-flash alliance specifications when the same, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method may be applied to a first node, and the first node corresponds to, for example, the third node in the foregoing embodiment of the first aspect, and the method may include:

the first node determines at least two nodes included in a target node group to which the first node belongs;

the first node performs data transmission between a third node and a target node based on a first communication link according to a working mode of the target node group when a second node of the at least two nodes is unavailable, wherein the second node comprises a second communication link which is different from the first communication link and is arranged between the third node and the target node, and at least two nodes of the target node group are used for establishing communication connection for the third node and the target node.

By means of the method, data transmission between the third node (e.g., the first node in the first aspect embodiment) and the target node may be performed through at least one communication link, for example, a first communication link (e.g., the second communication link in the first aspect embodiment) and a second communication link (e.g., the first communication link in the first aspect embodiment), where the at least one communication link may include different nodes, for example, the first communication link includes the first node (e.g., the third node in the first aspect embodiment), and the second communication link includes the second node (e.g., the second node in the first aspect embodiment). The first node and the second node can be the same nodes belonging to the target node group, the first node can determine that the second communication link is unavailable under the condition that the second node is unavailable, and in the case, the first node can perform data transmission between the third node and the target node based on the first communication link so as to ensure service continuity and improve the reliability and stability of the whole communication system.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the determining, by the first node, at least two nodes included in a target node group to which the first node belongs may include:

The first node receives first indication information from at least one node, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating a group identifier of a node group to which the node belongs;

and the first node determines at least one node which belongs to the target node group with the first node according to the first indication information.

By the method, the relation between the nodes and the node group can be preconfigured, and the device discovery process can be carried out between different nodes according to the configuration information of the nodes, so that whether the nodes belong to the same node group or not is determined. Furthermore, an identity negotiation process can be performed between the nodes belonging to the same node group, so as to negotiate and determine the working mode of the node group and the identity of each node in the node group. In the case that the working mode of the node group and the identity of each node in the node group are determined, different nodes of the node group can build links with nodes outside the group (such as a first node, a target node and the like) and perform data transmission according to requirements. It should be understood that the group identifier is merely an example of grouping information of nodes belonging to the same node group in the embodiment of the present application, and is not limited in any way, and in other embodiments, node groups to which different nodes belong may be configured through other information, which is not described herein.

With reference to the second aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the first indication information is further used to indicate a service capability of the node, and the method may further include:

the first node negotiates with a fourth node of the target node group according to the service capability of at least two nodes included in the target node group to determine the working mode of the target node group.

By the method, the networking mode or the communication mode of each node in the target node group can be preconfigured, and the first node can flexibly carry out identity negotiation with other nodes in the same group to determine the working mode. The negotiation manner may include, for example: any node in the target node group can be used as a discoveree to broadcast first indication information, any node can also be used as a discoverer to receive first indication information from other nodes, the first indication information indicates service capability of the node, identity negotiation is carried out among different nodes according to the first indication information interacted respectively, the specific implementation mode of the negotiation process is not limited, and specific content included in the first indication information interacted is not limited. In an alternative implementation manner, the operation mode of the node group may also be preconfigured (for example, configured in the service capability attribute of the node), and in the target node group, the first node may interact with preconfigured operation mode information in the process of performing identity negotiation with the fourth node, so as to determine the operation mode of the target node group. The identity negotiation process may include, for example, a device discovery and service discovery process when using short-range wireless communication techniques of the star-to-flash alliance specifications.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method may further include:

and when the first node performs data transmission with a target node based on the first communication link, performing data backup on the data transmitted between the first communication link and the target node at the fourth node based on the communication link between the first node and the fourth node.

By the method, the transverse data backup can be performed among different nodes of the same node group so as to ensure the service continuity.

the first node stores at least one of the following information of a target node group to which the first node belongs:

group identification; an operating mode; managing node information; member node information; service capability attribute information of the included node; and the communication domain resource information of the included node.

By the method, any node in the node group can maintain and record related information of part or all nodes belonging to the same node group with the node, including but not limited to the above example, so as to control or manage different nodes in the same node group. It should be understood that the related information of some or all nodes in the same node group may be recorded in an information list maintained by any node in the node group, where the list may be, for example, referred to as a neighbor node information table, and the recording manner and the storage manner of the information are not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

With reference to the second aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the working mode of the target node group is a primary and standby working mode, and the method may further include:

the first node sends second indication information to the third node, wherein the second indication information is used for requesting to switch the active/standby state for the first node.

By the method, in the active/standby working mode, the first node represents the standby node, the second node represents the main node, and the standby node can actively trigger the active/standby state switching process under the condition that the main node is found to be unavailable, so that the standby node can be converted into the main node to replace the original main node to continuously realize the service, and the continuity of the service is ensured. For example, the first node may send the second indication information in a broadcast manner, and the third node or the second node may scan and receive the second indication information. The second node may evaluate according to the second indication information after receiving the second indication information from the first node, where the second node may actively switch from the master node to the slave node if it is determined that the first node may switch from the slave node to the master node. It can be understood that, for example, whether the opposite node is available or not can be monitored through an interactive heartbeat message between the active node and the standby node in the target node group, and the implementation of the application does not limit the actual process of triggering the active and standby state switching by the standby node.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the second indication information includes a group identifier of the target node group and a round number of the first node for the election master node. It should be understood that the election mode is merely an example of an implementation of the active/standby state switching process in the embodiment of the present application, and is not limited in any way, and in other embodiments, the standby node may be switched to the active node in other manners, which are not described herein.

With reference to the second aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the second indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message of the first node, where the broadcast message or the system message of the first node further includes at least one of the following information of the first node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

With reference to the second aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the working mode of the target node group is a multi-active working mode, and the method may further include: the first node sends third indication information to the third node, wherein the third indication information is used for requesting to establish a communication link.

By the method, in the multi-activity working mode, the first node can represent any node in the node group, the first node is a node to be activated, and the first node can build a link with a third node by sending third indication information to the third node so as to perform data transmission based on the established communication link. Optionally, the first node may send third indication information in a broadcast manner, where the third indication information may include at least a group identifier of the target node group and a node identifier of the first node. Optionally, the third indication information may be included in a broadcast message or a system message of the first node, where the broadcast message or the system message of the first node further includes at least one of the following information of the first node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

With reference to the second aspect, in one possible implementation manner, a first communication technology is adopted by a sub-communication link between the second node and the third node, and the first communication technology is a wired communication technology or a first wireless communication technology. In another possible implementation, the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node employs a second communication technology, the second communication technology being a second wireless communication technology different from the first wireless communication technology. Wherein the first wireless communication technology and the second wireless communication technology may be the same or different. For example, the short-range wireless communication technologies may be the star-to-flash alliance specifications when the same, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, applied to a first node, the apparatus including:

the communication unit is used for carrying out data transmission with the target node based on a first communication link, wherein the first communication link comprises a second node; and in the case that the first communication link is unavailable, carrying out data transmission with the target node based on a second communication link different from the first communication link, wherein the second communication link comprises a third node different from the second node, the second node and the third node belong to a target node group, and the nodes contained in the target node group are used for establishing communication connection for the first node and the target node.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the first communication link is not available and is characterized by any one of the following:

the second node is not available;

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the second communication link includes a third node, the third node and the second node belong to a target node group, and an operation mode of the target node group includes any one of the following: a primary and a secondary working mode or a multiple-active working mode.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the working mode of the target node group is a primary and standby working mode, and the communication unit is further configured to:

receiving first indication information from the third node, wherein the first indication information is used for requesting to switch the master and slave states for the third node;

and in the case that the processing unit determines that the third node is allowed to be switched from the standby node to the main node, sending a connection request message to the third node, wherein the connection request message is used for requesting to establish a sub-communication link between the third node and the second communication link comprises the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the first indication information includes a group identifier of the target node group and a round number of the third node for the election master node.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the first indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message from the third node, where the broadcast message or the system message further includes at least one of the following information of the third node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the operation mode of the target node group is a multi-active operation mode, and before the first node performs data transmission with the target node based on the first communication link, the communication unit is further configured to:

receiving second indication information from at least two nodes of the target node group, the at least two nodes including the second node and the third node;

and establishing a sub-communication link between the sub-communication link and the at least two nodes according to the second indication information.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the second indication information from each of the at least two nodes includes a group identifier of the target node group and a node identifier of the node.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the second indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message from the node, where the broadcast message or the system message of the node further includes at least one of the following information of the node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to:

and updating the communication link information of the first node according to the availability of the sub communication link between the first node and the second node and the availability of the sub communication link between the first node and the third node.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the sub-communication link between the first node and the second node adopts a first communication technology, where the first communication technology is a wired communication technology or a first wireless communication technology.

With reference to the third aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node adopts a second communication technology, where the second communication technology is a second wireless communication technology different from the first wireless communication technology.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, applied to a first node, the apparatus including:

a determining unit, configured to determine at least two nodes included in a target node group to which the first node belongs;

and a communication unit, configured to perform data transmission between a third node and a target node based on a first communication link when a second node of the at least two nodes is unavailable according to an operation mode of the target node group, where the second node includes a second communication link different from the first communication link between the third node and the target node, and at least two nodes of the target node group are configured to establish a communication connection for the third node and the target node.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the communication unit is configured to receive first indication information from at least one node, where the first indication information is used to indicate a group identifier of a node group to which the node belongs;

the determining unit is configured to determine, according to the first indication information, at least one node that belongs to the target node group together with the first node.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the first indication information is further used to indicate a service capability of the node, and the determining unit is configured to:

With reference to the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to:

and when the data transmission is performed based on the first communication link and the target node, the data backup is performed on the data transmitted based on the first communication link and the target node at the fourth node based on the communication link between the first communication link and the fourth node.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the apparatus further includes: a storage unit, configured to store at least one of the following information of a target node group to which the first node belongs:

With reference to the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the working mode of the target node group is a primary and standby working mode, and the communication unit is further configured to:

and sending second indicating information to the third node, wherein the second indicating information is used for requesting to switch the active and standby states for the first node.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the second indication information includes a group identifier of the target node group and a round number of the first node for the election master node.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the second indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message of the first node, where the broadcast message or the system message of the first node further includes at least one of the following information of the first node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the target node group operation mode is a multiple active operation mode, and the communication unit is further configured to:

And sending third indication information to the third node, wherein the third indication information is used for requesting to establish a communication link.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the third indication information includes a group identifier of the target node group and a node identifier of the first node.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the third indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message of the first node, where the broadcast message or the system message of the first node further includes at least one of the following information of the first node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation manner, a first communication technology is adopted by a sub-communication link between the second node and the third node, and the first communication technology is a wired communication technology or a first wireless communication technology.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in one possible implementation manner, a second communication technology is adopted by a sub-communication link between the first node and the third node, where the second communication technology is a second wireless communication technology different from the first wireless communication technology.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication system, including a communication device for implementing the method of the first aspect and any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, and a communication device for implementing the method of the second aspect and any one of the possible designs of the second aspect.

For example, the system may include a first node, a second node, a third node, and a target node, where the second node and the third node belong to a target node group, and the target node group includes nodes for establishing communication connection for the first node and the target node;

the first node is used for carrying out data transmission with the target node based on a first communication link, and the first communication link comprises the second node; and if the first communication link is unavailable, carrying out data transmission with the target node based on a second communication link, wherein the second communication link comprises the third node.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including at least one processor and interface circuitry, the interface circuitry being configured to provide data or code instructions to the at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to implement, by logic circuitry or execution of the code instructions, a method as described in any one of the first aspect and the first aspect of the possible designs, or to implement, as described in any one of the second aspect and the second aspect of the possible designs.

In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer readable storage medium having a computer program stored therein, which when run on a computer causes the computer to perform the method as described above for the first aspect and any of the possible designs of the first aspect, or to perform the method as described above for the second aspect and any of the possible designs of the second aspect.

In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of the above-described first aspect and any one of the possible designs of the first aspect, or to perform the method of any one of the above-described second aspect and any one of the possible designs of the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a chip system, which includes a processor for invoking a computer program or computer instructions stored in a memory, to cause the processor to perform the method according to any one of the possible designs of the first aspect and the second aspect or to perform the method according to any one of the possible designs of the second aspect and the second aspect.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the processor may be coupled with the memory through an interface.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the chip system may further include a memory, where a computer program or computer instructions are stored.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a processor for invoking a computer program or computer instructions stored in a memory to cause the processor to perform the method of any one of the above-described first aspect and any one of the possible designs of the second aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, where the terminal device may be configured to implement a method as described in the first aspect and the possible designs of the first aspect, or implement a method as described in the second aspect and the possible designs of any of the second aspect. Examples of some of the terminal devices include, but are not limited to: intelligent transportation devices (such as automobiles, ships, unmanned aerial vehicles, trains, trucks, etc.), intelligent manufacturing devices (such as robots, industrial devices, intelligent logistics, intelligent factories, etc.), intelligent terminals (mobile phones, computers, tablet computers, palm computers, desktops, headphones, sound equipment, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, etc.), battery management systems, and the like.

In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a vehicle that may be used to implement the method described in the first aspect and the possible designs of the first aspect, or implement the method described in the second aspect and the possible designs of the second aspect. Alternatively, the vehicle may comprise an apparatus as described in the third aspect or an apparatus as described in the fourth aspect above.

Based on the implementation provided in the above aspects, the embodiments of the present application may be further combined to provide further implementations.

The technical effects that may be achieved by any one of the possible designs of the third aspect to the tenth aspect may be correspondingly described with reference to any one of the possible designs of the first aspect/the second aspect, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a schematic architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIGS. 2 a-2 b show schematic diagrams of communication schemes of embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 3 illustrates another architectural diagram of a communication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

FIGS. 4a, 4b, and 4c are schematic diagrams illustrating implementation of redundant communication schemes in different modes of operation according to embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication protocol architecture of a communication node employing a short-range communication technique according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of at least two communication nodes networked using short-range communication techniques according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a redundant communication method in a primary and backup mode of operation according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIGS. 8-9 are flow diagrams illustrating a redundant communication method in a multiple active mode of operation according to embodiments of the present application;

FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram of a communication method of an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram of a communication method of an embodiment of the application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural view of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural view of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, the following explains some related terms.

1. Node group (group):

in the communication system, at least two communication nodes having an association relationship may be divided into the same group, which may be referred to as a node group, according to an application scenario, a service requirement, and the like. The association relationship may be, for example, a business association relationship, a communication association relationship, or the like, and is not limited thereto. Nodes belonging to the same node group may be associated with the same information identifier, such as a group identifier (Identity document, ID), a service identifier, or a communication identifier, which is not limited thereto.

Any node in the node group may provide communication support for a source node and a destination node that perform data transmission, and it may also be understood that the source node and the destination node establish a communication connection via the nodes in the node group. For example, a communication link is established between a source node and a target node, which may include a sub-communication link established between one of the nodes in the node group and the source node, and a sub-communication link established with the target node. According to the information such as the working mode or the working identity preconfigured for the nodes in the node group, different nodes in the same node group can establish a main communication link and a redundant communication link for data transmission between the source node and the target node, wherein the redundant communication link is a backup link of the main communication link, and when the main communication link is not available, the redundant communication link can still provide communication support for data transmission between the source node and the target node so as to ensure the continuity of the service.

It should be understood that reference herein to a data source node and a target node is with respect to a node in a node group, the source node representing only the data source node with respect to the node in the node group, the target node representing only the data destination node with respect to the node in the node group, and does not define the true transmission path of the data. In practical applications, other communication nodes may be further included between a node in the node group and the source node, or between the target nodes, which will not be described herein.

In the embodiment of the application, the communication system may include at least one node group, and when the communication method of the embodiment of the application is implemented, the node group involved in the method may be referred to as a target node group.

In addition, in the communication system according to the embodiment of the present application, other communication nodes that are not associated as a group may be included in addition to the node group, and detailed description of the communication system is described below, which is not repeated here.

2. Communication system:

in the embodiment of the application, the communication system is a generic term of a technical system for completing an information transmission process. Generally, a communication system may be comprised of one or more communication nodes of an information source, a transmitting device, a channel, a receiving device, a recipient, etc., that together accomplish the task of transferring information from the information source to the recipient node.

In the embodiment of the present application, for convenience of distinction, communication nodes in a communication system may include at least two types, which are respectively represented as a first node and a second node, in addition to a target node (e.g., a recipient node), and as shown in fig. 1, one communication system 10 may include a first node 11, at least two second nodes 12 (e.g., second nodes 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, etc.), and a target node 13. The at least two second nodes 12 may be associated as a node group according to respective configuration information, with corresponding group identification or other information identification.

The first node 11 may be used as a data source node, and directly or indirectly interact with the at least two second nodes 12, where any two second nodes in the at least two second nodes 12 may also directly or indirectly interact with each other, the first node 11 may interact with the target node 13 through any second node 12, and different second nodes belonging to the communication node group may provide at least one communication link between the first node 11 and the target node 13, where the at least one communication link may be used for communication or redundant communication between the first node 11 and the target node 13, so as to ensure continuity of service.

It should be understood that at least two first nodes may also be included in the communication system 10, and other types of communication nodes may also be included, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to the type or number of communication nodes. The communication link between any two nodes may also be included as a sub-communication link in other communication links, such as in fig. 1, where the communication link between the first node 11 and the target node 13 includes a sub-communication link between the first node 11 and the second node 12-1 and a sub-communication link between the second node 12-1 and the target node 13 when the first node 11 is in communication interaction with the target node 13 via the second node 12-1.

In a possible implementation, at least one communication technology may be supported between the first node 11/target node 13, and each second node 12, such as: a wired communication technology; short-range wireless communication technologies, including but not limited to bluetooth (blue) technology, wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, wi-Fi) technology, near field communication (near field communication, NFC) technology, wi-Fi Aware technology, universal short-range communication technology, star-to-flash alliance specifications short-range wireless communication technology, and the like. Depending on the specific communication technology adopted, the communication system 10 may be a homogeneous communication system or a heterogeneous communication system, and when the communication system is a heterogeneous communication system, the communication system may also be called a converged communication system, a tightly coupled (tight interworking) communication system, or an inter-working (interworking) communication system, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the communication technology actually adopted by the communication system.

Note that, the solid/dashed connection lines between the respective nodes shown in fig. 1 only indicate that two communication nodes may establish at least one communication link (for example, at least one communication link between the first node 11 and the second node 12-1 is represented as a communication link A1 or a communication link A2, and at least one communication link between the first node 11 and the second node 12-2 is represented as a communication link C1 or a communication link C2) and perform communication interaction, and the specific communication manner is not limited. The two corresponding communication links are obtained by two different communication technologies, such as a communication link A1 is a wired communication link, and a communication link A2 is a short-distance wireless communication link; alternatively, it is understood that the same communication technology is employed but in a different state, such as communication link C1 being in an active state (e.g., a state in which the communication link is established) and being occupied, communication link C2 representing being in an active state but not being occupied. The different communications between the same first node 11 and different second nodes 12 may also be similarly understood, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

In the embodiment of the present application, any of the first node 11, any of the second nodes 12, the target node, or any of other communication nodes of the communication system, which are not shown, may be an electronic device having data transceiving capability.

The electronic device may be, for example, a terminal device, comprising a device providing voice and/or data connectivity to a user, in particular, comprising a device providing voice to a user, or comprising a device providing data connectivity to a user, or comprising a device providing voice and data connectivity to a user. Including, for example, a handheld device having wireless connectivity, or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device may communicate with the core network, for example, via a radio access network (radio access network, RAN), exchanging voice and/or data with the RAN.

In particular implementations, the terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a vehicle, a User Equipment (UE), a wireless terminal device, a mobile terminal device, a device-to-device (D2D) terminal device, a vehicle-to-all (vehicle to everything, V2X) terminal device, a machine-to-machine/machine-type communication (M2M/MTC) terminal device, an internet of things (internet of things, ioT) terminal device, or a narrowband internet of things (narrow band internet of things, NB-IoT) terminal device, a subscription unit (subscriber), a subscription station (subscriber station), a mobile station (mobile), a remote station (remote station), an Access Point (AP), a remote terminal device (remote terminal), an access terminal device (access terminal), a user terminal device (user terminal), a user agent (user), or a user equipment (user), or the like. For another example, the terminal device may be specifically implemented as: a mobile telephone (or "cellular" telephone), or a computer with a mobile terminal device; a dedicated terminal device in IoT, or an industrial control (industrial control) device, or a remote medical (remote) device, or a smart grid (smart grid) device, or a smart city (smart city) device, etc.; portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, etc.; personal communication services (personal communication service, PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (Session Initiation Protocol, SIP) phones, wireless local loop (Wireless Local Loop, WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (Personal Digital Assistant, PDAs), etc. In an alternative design, the terminal device may also be implemented as a limited device, such as a device with lower power consumption, or a device with limited memory or computing capabilities, etc. In an alternative design, the terminal device may include bar codes, radio frequency identification (radio frequency identification, RFID), sensors, global positioning system (global positioning system, GPS), laser scanners, and the like.

In an alternative design, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable equipment can also be called wearable intelligent equipment or intelligent wearable equipment and the like, and is the general name of wearable equipment, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothes, shoes and the like, which is developed by applying wearable technology to carry out intelligent design on daily wear. The wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also can realize powerful functions through software support and data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable intelligent device includes full functionality, large size, and may not rely on the smart phone to implement complete or partial functionality, such as: smart watches or smart glasses, etc., and focus on only certain types of application functions, and need to be used in combination with other devices, such as smart phones, for example, various smart bracelets, smart helmets, smart jewelry, etc. for physical sign monitoring.

In an alternative design, the terminal device may also be a machine intelligent device such as a self-driving device, a transportation safety (transportation safety) device, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal device, or the like.

While the various terminal devices described above, if located on the vehicle (e.g., placed in the vehicle or installed in the vehicle), may be considered as in-vehicle terminal devices, the in-vehicle terminal devices may include, for example, in-vehicle units (OBU), cameras, mobile data centers (Mobile Data Center, MDC), cabin domain controllers (Cockpit Domain Controller, CDC), power battery control units (Battery Control Unit, BCU), or power battery collection units (Battery Monitor Unit, BMU), etc.

In an alternative design, the terminal device may also include a relay. Or it is understood that the terminal device may comprise any device capable of data communication with the base station.

The electronic device may also be a network device, for example, including AN Access Network (AN) device, which may include a device in the access network that communicates over AN air interface with wireless terminal devices, such as a base station or AN access point, via one or more cells, for example. Wherein the base station is operable to inter-convert the received air frames with internet protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) packets as a router between the terminal device and the rest of the access network, which may comprise an IP network. In an alternative design, the network device may include a base station in a second generation (2th generation,2G) communication system, or include a base station in a third generation (3th generation,3G) communication system, or include a base station in a fourth generation (4th generation,4G) communication system, such as a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system or an evolved base station in a long term evolution advanced (long term evolution-advanced, LTE-a) (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutional Node B), or may also include a next generation NodeB (next generation node B, gNB) in a fifth generation (the 5th generation,5G) New Radio (NR) system (also simply referred to as an NR system), or may also include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) in a Cloud access network (Cloud radio access network, cloud RAN) system, and base stations in various future communication systems, such as a base station in a sixth generation (6th generation,6G) communication system, which the present application is not limited; as another example, the network device may include a network device in V2X, i.e., a Road Side Unit (RSU). The RSU may include a fixed infrastructure entity supporting V2X applications, which may exchange messages with other entities supporting V2X applications; as another example, the network device may also include a core network device including, for example, one or more of the following in a 5G system: access and mobility management functions (access and mobility management function, AMF), session management functions (session management function, SMF), user plane functions (user plane function, UPF), or mobility management entities (mobility management entity, MME) in a 4G system, among others.

It should be understood that in some technical scenarios, names of electronic devices having similar data transceiving capabilities may not be referred to as nodes, but for convenience of description, in embodiments of the present application, electronic devices having data transceiving capabilities are collectively referred to as nodes. Among the different communication technologies adopted, the node may also have a specific name, for example, when the short-range wireless communication technology specified by the star-to-flash alliance is adopted, the first node may be referred to as a T node, and the second node may be referred to as a G node.

It should be noted that the system architecture shown in fig. 1 does not constitute a limitation of the system architecture to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable. The number of communication nodes in the figure is merely an example, and in practical application, the network device may provide services for a plurality of terminal devices, and all or part of the terminal devices in the plurality of terminal devices may use the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The functions or devices involved in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a communication apparatus, which may be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device, which is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application.

It should be noted that, in the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "a plurality" refers to two or more. "and/or", describes an association relationship of an association object, and indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate: a alone, a and B together, and B alone, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c may represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

And, unless otherwise specified, references to "first," "second," "third," etc. ordinal words of the embodiments of the present application are used for distinguishing a plurality of objects, and are not used for defining priorities or importance of the plurality of objects. For example, the first node, the second node, and the third node are only for distinguishing between different nodes, and are not indicative of the difference in priority or importance of the three nodes.

3. Redundant communication (redundant communication):

in communication engineering, "redundancy" refers to the repeated configuration of some critical components or functions, manually, in view of the safety and reliability of the communication system. When the communication system is in fault, such as when a certain device is damaged, closed or dormant, the redundant components can be used as spare parts to timely intervene and bear the work of the fault components, thereby reducing the fault time of the communication system. Typically, redundancy is used for emergency handling and may exist at different levels, such as network (e.g., communication network) redundancy, server redundancy, disk redundancy, data redundancy, etc.

The redundant communication in the embodiment of the application refers to the transmission of the information to be transmitted through the redundant communication links between certain two or more communication nodes in the communication system, so that when the main communication link of the information to be transmitted is unavailable, the transmission of the information to be transmitted is continuously completed through the redundant communication link of the communication link, thereby ensuring the continuity of information transmission and improving the reliability of the communication system. The information to be transferred according to the embodiment of the present application may be understood as service data of a communication system, or may be understood as control signaling of the communication system, and in the following embodiment, the service data may be replaced by the control signaling. The redundant communication link of the embodiment of the application can comprise a backup link which is not established and does not carry out data transmission when the main communication link works, and can also comprise a backup link which carries out redundant transmission on information to be transmitted simultaneously when the main communication link works. The embodiment of the application does not limit the specific implementation manner of the information to be transmitted or the redundant communication link, and at least one of the following redundant communication manners is not limited to the working mechanism of the redundant communication link of the main communication link when the main communication link works.

In the embodiment of the present application, for the purpose of redundant communication, and based on the communication technology adopted by the communication node itself and its opposite end communication node, a corresponding redundant communication link may be or can be established between the first node 11 and each second node 12 in fig. 1 to perform redundant communication. Thus, embodiments of the present application may define the following redundant communication schemes:

(1) Mode one:

while two (or more) communication links established using different communication technologies may be present or capable of being established between the first node 11 and one of the second nodes 12, one or several of the communication links may serve as redundant communication links for the other communication links.

For example, as shown in fig. 1, there may be two communication links obtained by using different communication technologies between the first node 11 and the second node 12-1, which are denoted as a communication link A1 and a communication link A2, where the communication link A1 may be, for example, a wired communication link, and the communication link A2 may be, for example, a short-range wireless communication link, and the communication link A2 may be used as a redundant communication link of the wired communication link A1.

Wherein the second node 12-1 may activate the (active) redundant communication capability and a communication link A2 is established between the second node 12-1 and the first node 11. In one aspect, the communication link A2 may operate concurrently with the communication link A1, in operation, the first node 11 performing redundant transmission of data with the target node 13 via the communication link A2 with the second node 12-1 while the first node 11 performing data transmission with the target node 13 via the wired communication link A1 with the second node 12-1. When the communication link A1 is disconnected or the quality degradation is lower than the set threshold, the first node 11 may still maintain the communication link A2 with the second node 12-1 and perform data transmission between the target node 13 based on the communication link A2 to ensure the service continuity. On the other hand, the communication link A2, which is a backup link for the communication link A1, may be established or put into use in real time when the communication link A1 is not available, and the first node 11 may perform data transmission based on the communication link A2 and the target node 13.

(2) Mode two:

the first node 11 may establish different communication links with different second nodes 12 using the same communication technology, respectively, and the communication link between the first node 11 and one of the second nodes 12 may be used as a redundant communication link for the communication link between the first node 11 and the other of the second nodes 12.

Such as shown in fig. 1, the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 may be associated as a group of nodes. The second node 12-1, the second node 12-2 may activate redundant communication capabilities, the first node 11 may establish a communication link A2 with the second node 12-1, and may establish a communication link C2 with the second node 12-2. In one aspect, communication link A2 and communication link C2 may operate simultaneously, and first node 11 may perform data transmission based on communication link A2 and target node 13, while performing redundant transmission of data based on communication link C2 and target node 13. When the second node 12-1 fails, the first node may still maintain the communication link C2 with the second node 12-2 and continue data transmission with the target node 13 based on the communication link C2. On the other hand, the communication link C2, which is a backup link for the communication link A2, may be established or put into use when the communication link A2 is not available, and the first node 11 may perform data transmission based on the communication link C2 and the target node 13.

(3) Mode three:

the third mode is the superposition of the first mode and the second mode.

Two communication links established by at least one communication technology can be provided or can be established between the first node 11 and one second node 12, meanwhile, different communication links can be respectively established between the first node 11 and the other second node 12 by adopting a certain same communication technology, the two communication links established by the first node 11 and the one second node are redundant communication links, and the communication link between the first node 11 and the one second node 12 can be used as a redundant communication link of the communication link between the first node 11 and the other second node 12.

Such as shown in fig. 1, the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 may be associated as a group of nodes. The first node 11 and the second node 12-1 have a communication link A1, such as a wired communication link. Meanwhile, the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 may activate redundant communication capability, and the first node 11 may, for example, use a short-range wireless communication technology to establish a communication link A2 and a communication link C2 with the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2, respectively. Wherein, communication link A2 and communication link C2 may be redundant communication links of communication link A1, and communication link C2 may also be redundant communication links of communication link A2. That is, data transmission or redundancy transmission between the first node 11 and the target node 13 may be performed based on the communication link A1, the communication link A2, and the communication link C2.

In an alternative implementation, after the communication link A1 is disconnected or the service quality degradation is lower than the set threshold, the first node 11 may still continue to maintain the communication link A2 and the communication link C2 and continue to perform data transmission and redundant transmission, so as to ensure that the service is not interrupted. When the communication link A2 is disconnected or the service quality degradation is lower than the set threshold, the first node 11 may still perform data transmission or redundant transmission based on the communication link A1 and the communication link C2, so as to ensure that the service is not interrupted. When the second node 12-1 is unavailable due to failure, dormancy or shutdown, the first node 11 may still continue to maintain the communication link C2 and continue to perform data transmission, so as to ensure that the service is not interrupted. In the third mode, the communication link A2 or the communication link C2, which is a redundant communication link, may operate simultaneously with the corresponding primary communication link, or be established or put into use when the primary communication link is unavailable, similarly to the first mode and the second mode described above, and will not be described herein.

Based on the above three redundant communication methods, when implementing the redundant communication scheme of the embodiment of the present application between some nodes in the communication system shown in fig. 1, taking the service data and the intelligent automobile digital platform system architecture as examples, as shown in fig. 2a, the first node 11 in fig. 1 may be implemented as a 360-degree looking-around camera of a vehicle, and be a source node of the data; the second node 12-1 may be, for example, the MDC described above, the second node 12-2 may be, for example, the CDC described above, and the target node 13 may be, for example, a central control screen of the vehicle, configured to display an environmental image acquired by a 360-degree looking around camera of the vehicle.

The primary transmission path of data (e.g., referred to as a first communication link) may include, in the direction of the arrow:

360-look around camera- & gt communication link A1- & gt MDC- & gt communication link B- & gt CDC- & gt central control screen.

The cross number "x" indicates an unavailable problem occurrence point, and the unavailable problem occurrence point may be located at least one of the MDC (such as a sudden failure, dormancy, or shutdown of the MDC), the communication link A1, or the communication link B (such as a service interruption or a loss of important service data caused by an interference degradation of the service quality of the communication link), where the location may affect the transmission of service data and the service implementation.

Therefore, in order to ensure service continuity, in the embodiment of the present application, a communication link C2 that is already present or can be established between the 360-degree looking around camera and the CDC may be used as a redundant communication link, and a redundant transmission path (for example, referred to as a second communication link) of data may include:

360 look around camera→communication link c2→cdc→central control screen. It should be appreciated that if the point of occurrence of the unavailable problem is located only on communication link A1, the second communication link may include: 360-look around camera- & gt communication link A2- & gt MDC- & gt communication link B- & gt CDC- & gt central control screen.

Therefore, in operation, the data collected by the 360-degree looking-around camera can be transmitted to the central control screen based on the redundant communication link of the communication link C2, and when the first communication link is unavailable, the first node 11 can still guarantee service continuity based on the data transmitted between the second communication link and the target node 13, so that the reliability of the whole communication system is improved.

Similarly, as shown in fig. 2b, the first node 11 in fig. 1 is a source node of data, may be implemented as a BMU, the second node 12-1 may be implemented as a BCU1, the second node 12-2 may be implemented as a BCU2, and the target node 13 may be implemented as a VDC.

The transmission path of the data (e.g., referred to as a first communication link) may include, in the direction of the arrow:

bmu→communication link a1→bcu1→communication link b→vdc;

the redundant transmission path of data (e.g., referred to as a second communication link) may include:

bmu→communication link c2→bcu2→communication link d→vdc;

when the unavailable problem occurs at the BCU1, the communication link A1 or the communication link B and affects the data transmission between the BMU and the VDC, the BMU can still guarantee the service continuity through the data transmitted redundantly between the communication link c2→bcu2→the communication link D and the VDC, thereby improving the reliability of the whole communication system.

It should be noted that, in fig. 2a or fig. 2b, the solid line connection schematically represents only one main communication link for transmitting service data or control signaling to the target node; the dashed connection line only schematically represents a redundant communication link, and is used for replacing corresponding main communication links to transmit service data or control signaling when the communication system has an unavailable problem, and the virtual connection line does not limit the actual routing path of the data or signaling or limit the specific communication mode adopted by the communication link. In some embodiments, the communication link corresponding to the connection line shown in fig. 2a or fig. 2b may be an optional communication link for data, and other communication nodes and communication links not shown may be further included in the communication system, which are not described herein.

In the embodiment of the application, based on the networking strategy and the communication technology adopted in practice, the redundant communication link of the data can be preset or established by the communication system, or can be established in real time according to the need when the communication system has the unavailable problem, and the embodiment of the application does not limit the establishment time of the redundant communication link. Based on the specific structure of the communication system, any cause that the second node is unavailable or the communication link associated with the second node is unavailable to affect the normal transmission of the data via the second node can be understood as that the communication link associated with the second node is unavailable, and accordingly, the communication method of the embodiment of the application can be adopted to ensure the service continuity of the communication system by switching the transmission link of the data into the corresponding redundant communication link.

It should be understood that fig. 1, 2a, and 2b are merely exemplary, not limiting, of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application, which may include, but is not limited to, a first node or a target node.

As shown in fig. 3, only with respect to the first node 11 and the second node 12 included in the communication system, three first nodes and two second nodes, denoted as a first node 11-1, a first node 11-2 and a second node 11-3, and a second node 12-1, a second node 12-2, for example, may be included in the communication system. The second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 may be associated as a group of nodes, having the same group identity. The first node 11-1, the first node 11-2 and the second node 11-3 may respectively establish a primary communication link and a redundant communication link with the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 according to application scenarios or service requirements, so as to perform data transmission.

4. Working mode:

the communication system described above in the embodiments of the present application may be abstracted into a redundant communication networking architecture (the networking process is described in detail in the embodiments below), and includes a target node, at least one first node, and at least two second nodes belonging to the same node group, as shown in fig. 3.

The node group may include two modes of operation: a primary and a secondary working mode and a multiple-active working mode.

At least two second nodes associated with the same node group may negotiate to determine an operational mode for the target node group. The first node may discover all second nodes associated with the same node group during the device discovery phase. According to the working mode of the node group, the communication links between the first node and at least two second nodes of the node group can realize the operations of establishing, releasing, reconfiguring or switching the communication links according to the adopted target communication technology.

(1) Master and slave working modes:

the primary and standby working modes are that at least two second nodes associated in the same group are divided into a primary node and a standby node according to roles in a networking architecture.

The information such as the group identifier, the working mode, and the working identity of any second node may be preconfigured, for example. Initially, the plurality of second nodes as discoveree may disclose their own identity information, including but not limited to a device name, a communication address, an identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing said service capabilities (e.g. including group identification, work identity, etc.), by broadcasting a message or a system message.

The first node may receive broadcast messages or system messages from a plurality of second nodes as discoverers and screen the devices of interest according to a preset filtering policy. For example, the first node may determine at least two second nodes belonging to the same node group according to the group identifier, and determine the master node and the standby node of the same node group according to the working identity.

After the main node is found, the first node can establish a communication link with the main node by adopting a target communication technology, and based on the established communication link and data transmission between the target node, the first node does not establish a communication link with the standby node. And the master and slave heartbeat messages can be transmitted between the master and slave nodes in the same group, and the master and slave relation is maintained.

When the master node is unavailable due to failure, dormancy or shutdown, etc., the standby node can detect that the master node is unavailable based on the heartbeat message, and then the standby node can switch the master-standby state so as to switch from the standby node to the master node.

The first node can establish a communication link with a new master node (original and standby nodes), release the communication link with the original master node and complete the switching of the master and standby states. Further, data transmission between the first node and the new master node may continue based on the established communication link.

Taking the networking architecture shown in fig. 3 as an example, the second node 12-1 may be used as a master node, and the second node 12-2 may be used as a standby node. As shown on the left side of fig. 4a, initially, the first node 11-1, the first node 11-2, and the first node 11-3 may establish communication links 1, 2, and 3 with the master node, respectively, and not establish communication links 4, 5, and 6 with the slave nodes. As shown on the right side of fig. 4a, when the master node is unavailable, the master node switches the master-slave state, the original slave node switches to the new master node, and the original master node switches to the new slave node. The first node 11-1, the first node 11-2 and the first node 11-3 respectively establish communication links 4, 5 and 6 with the new master node (i.e. the original master node) and release the communication links 1, 2 and 3 with the original master node. Further, the first node 11-1, the first node 11-2 and the first node 11-3 respectively transmit data between the communication links 4, 5 and 6 and the target node, so that service continuity is ensured.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the pre-configuring the working id for the second node is only an example of the redundant communication networking architecture of the embodiment of the present application, and is not limited in any way. In another embodiment, the working modes of at least two second nodes belonging to the same node group may be preconfigured, the at least two second nodes may also adopt an election mode, by carrying a round number for electing the identity of the master node in a broadcast message or a system message of the at least two second nodes, the first node serving as a discovery party determines the master node or the standby node of the current round according to the received round number by itself, and the determining mode of the master node and the standby node of the same node group is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In an optional implementation manner, when the switching of the primary and secondary states is involved, the secondary node may also carry indication information in its own broadcast message or system message, where the indication information may include a round number of the secondary node for selecting the primary node, and the first node or the primary node formulates a primary and secondary state switching policy for the secondary node or itself according to the received round number, and controls the switching of the primary and secondary states.

(2) Multiple active mode of operation:

the multiple active working mode means that at least two second nodes associated to the same group have no role difference in the networking architecture, and the first node can establish a communication link with all the second nodes in the same group by adopting a target communication technology. In operation, the first node may transmit data between the target node and the at least one communication link based on the established at least one communication link.

The information such as the group identifier, the working mode, and the working identity of any second node may be preconfigured, for example. Based on at least one communication link used for actually transmitting data, the multiple active operation mode may include two specific embodiments of the following aspects:

(2-1) the first node may redundantly transmit data, i.e., one-to-many data transmissions, over the communication links established with all of the second nodes of the node group. When a certain second node is not available or a certain communication link between the second node and the first node is disconnected or the quality of service is deteriorated, the remaining communication links may continue data transmission.

Still taking the networking architecture shown in fig. 3 as an example, in the multi-active operation mode, the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 each establish a communication link with the first node 11-1, the first node 11-2, and the first node 11-3, which are denoted as communication links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. In normal operation, the communication links 1-6 are all occupied, and as shown on the left side of fig. 4b, the communication links 4, 5, 6 are each used for redundant transmission of data transmitted on the basis of the communication links 1, 2, 3.

As shown in the upper right side of fig. 4b, when the second node 12-1 is not available, the first node 11-1, the first node 11-2, the first node 11-3 continue data transmission with the target node 13 based on the communication links 4, 5, 6 and release the communication links 1, 2, 3. As shown in the lower right side of fig. 4b, when a certain communication link is not available, e.g. communication link 2 between second node 12-1 and first node 11-2 is not available, data transmission continues based on the redundant communication link of the unavailable communication link, and the other communication link remains unchanged, e.g. communication link 5 continues to transmit data as the redundant communication link of communication link 2, traffic based on communication links 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 is not interrupted.

(2-2) the first node may flexibly select one of the communication links established with all the active second nodes of the group to perform data transmission, so as to implement load sharing. Such as randomly selecting one of the communication links, or selecting the best quality communication link based on the communication link quality of service (Quality of Service, qoS value), etc., the other communication links that are not selected are redundant communication links of the communication links that have been selected. While the selected communication link is operating normally, other non-selected redundant communication links are idle.

When the selected communication link is disconnected or the service quality is deteriorated, or the second node corresponding to the communication link is unavailable, the first node can rapidly switch to the redundant communication link of the communication link to continue data transmission, so as to ensure that the service is not interrupted.

Still taking the networking architecture shown in fig. 3 as an example, in the multi-active operation mode, the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 each establish a communication link with the first node 11-1, the first node 11-2, and the first node 11-3, which are denoted as communication links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The first node 11-1, the first node 11-2 and the first node 11-3 all select a communication link with the second node 12-1 for data transmission, and in normal operation, the communication links 4, 5 and 6 between the first node 11-1, the first node 11-2 and the first node 11-3 and the second node 12-2 are idle, as shown in the left side of fig. 4 c.

As shown in the upper right side of fig. 4c, when the second node 12-1 is not available, the first node 11-1, the first node 11-2 and the first node 11-3 rapidly switch to the communication links 4, 5 and 6 with the second node 12-2 to continue data transmission, ensure that the service is not interrupted, and release the communication links 1, 2 and 3. As shown in the lower right side of fig. 4c, when the communication link 2 between the second node 12-1 and the first node 11-2 is disconnected or the quality of service is degraded below a set threshold, the first node 11-2 rapidly switches to the communication link 5 to continue data transmission without interruption of the traffic based on the communication links 1, 3, 4, 5, 6.

5. Redundant communication networking architecture

In an embodiment of the present application, the redundant communication networking architecture may include a source node, a target node, and at least one node group. A node group may be associated with at least two second nodes in the communication system shown in fig. 1, 2a, 2b and 3, which may be used to enable redundant communication with other communication nodes in the system, such as source or destination nodes.

For example, in FIG. 1, the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 may be associated as a node group, the second node 12-2 and the second node 12-3 may be associated as a node group, and the second node 12-1, the second node 12-2, and the second node 12-3 may be associated as a node group. The first node 11 may establish a communication link with at least two second nodes of the same node group and redundantly transmit traffic data. As another example, in fig. 2a, 2b, 3, the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 may be associated as a node group.

In the embodiment of the present application, the relationship between the node and the node group may be preconfigured. Different communication nodes that can be associated into the same group may have the same information, e.g. service identification, indicating that the group of communication nodes is used to associatively implement the service; position information indicating that the group of communication nodes belong to the same position range; group identification, etc. Each node may discover other nodes through a device discovery mechanism and associate as a group.

A redundant communication networking architecture in a star-flash communication system is described below using, for example, a short-range wireless communication technology using the star-flash alliance specifications, a plurality of G nodes (e.g., the second node in fig. 1, 2a, 2b, and 3 described above), and a plurality of T nodes (e.g., the first node 11 in fig. 1, 2a, 2b, and 3 described above).

The multiple G nodes can mutually determine the identities of the high-level G node and the general G node of the star flash access layer through a multi-domain coordination mechanism, and the high-level G node loads the air interface resource scheduling of the system. In the embodiment of the application, aiming at the networking scene for the redundant communication service, the information such as the group identifier, the working mode or the working identity identifier and the like can be configured for each G node in advance according to the application scene or the service requirement. During networking, on the basis of a short-distance wireless communication standard protocol specified by the star-flash alliance, a multi-domain coordination mechanism is extended, a universal unique identification code (Universally Unique Identifier, UUID) for defining redundant communication service and a redundant communication networking mechanism are extended, identity information of each G node is disclosed through broadcast messages or system messages, and the G nodes negotiate with each other to determine the working mode (such as a main-standby working mode or a multi-active working mode) of the node group, and the working identities of each G node under the corresponding working mode, such as a main node, a standby node or an active_G node. Multiple G nodes are associated as a node group, denoted G-group, with G-group IDs. After the plurality of T nodes discover each G node contained in the G-group through the device discovery mechanism, communication links can be established with part or all of the nodes of the G-group according to the working mode of the G-group and the configuration information of the G node contained in the G-group, so that networking is completed. After networking is completed, when the communication system works, the communication method of the embodiment of the application can be realized, and the reliability of the communication system is ensured. Optionally, between nodes included in the G-group, a lateral data backup may also be performed on the transmitted data, so as to ensure continuity of service.

As shown in fig. 5, in the short-range wireless communication technology of the star-flash alliance specification, a communication protocol architecture of any G node or T node may include an application layer (application layer), a basic service layer (service layer), and an access layer (access layer), and each layer may be referred to as a protocol layer.

It should be understood that the layers herein are only a framed structural division, and are generally divided into three major layers, an upper layer, a middle layer, and a lower layer. The different communication systems may have respective layer division modes, or may have more specific and lower layer division, which is not particularly limited herein. For example, there are also a number of possible network models for seven, five and three layers in the prior art. Wherein the functionality of each layer may be implemented by one or more protocols. Protocols such as the service layer may include IPv4 and the like.

The application layer is located above the basic service layer, and several application/service instances may be deployed, which may be used to provide services for applications (also called applications or users), such as general communication services, general audio-video services, active noise reduction services, file services, and so on. Optionally, the application layer may also be used to provide session support and/or information support for the user.

The base service layer is located above the access layer for establishing a connection between a source node (e.g., a first node) and a destination node (e.g., a second node) and providing an end-to-end information transfer service. Optionally, the basic service layer may also correspond to a network layer (network layer), a data transmission and adaptation layer, which may be responsible for transmission control and routing to determine transmission bearers (alternatively referred to as transmission channels) for different functions (e.g., device discovery, service discovery, connection management, qoS management, security management, multi-domain management, measurement management, 5G fusion, etc.). Optionally, the network layer may also perform flow control. The data transmission and adaptation layer can be used for encoding or decoding data (including transparent transmission data and non-transparent transmission data) transmitted by an upper layer so as to convert the data into a format compatible or suitable for transmission.

The access stratum may provide a communication interface/means for communication between nodes, and may contain a number of different access technologies, which may correspond to different communication interfaces, such as cellular interfaces, WIFI interfaces, etc. Optionally, the access layer corresponds to a data link layer and a physical layer.

Data link layer: the reliable transfer of data on the physical link is ensured. Data or instructions are encapsulated into specific frames that can be transmitted by the physical layer; optionally, the data link layer further includes access control, resource management, data segmentation, concatenation, error correction, and the like. The data link layer may include, among other things, one or more access layer bearers (or referred to as link channels, logical channels) for transporting data or instructions from an upper layer (e.g., a service layer).

Physical layer: and providing physical connection for the data link layer by using a transmission medium to realize transparent transmission of the bit stream. Generally, a physical layer performs channel coding or decoding, and ensures the reliability of data transmission.

Since the service layer may have different networks and/or transport protocols, the data link layer may also be used to provide transport adaptation functions with the different networks and/or transport protocols. For example, a packet from a lower layer (protocol layer below the data link layer) is received, the protocol type of an upper layer (protocol layer above the data link layer) to which the packet belongs is distinguished, and the packet is submitted (or transferred) to a corresponding upper layer protocol process. It should be noted that the data link layer is a logic function layer, which may be included in the service layer in implementation, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

It should be understood that, in the present application, an upper layer of a protocol layer refers to any one of protocol layers above the protocol layer, for example, an upper layer of a data link layer may include a service layer or an application layer. The process of transmitting data packets from an upper layer to a lower layer may be referred to as delivery. The process by which the lower layer transmits a data packet to the upper layer may be referred to as a handoff.

The implementation process of the communication method of the embodiment of the application mainly comprises the following three stages:

(1) G-group working mode and identity negotiation stage.

(1-1) a multi-domain device discovery phase:

at this stage, any G node may act as a discoveree and discoverer, discover each other with other G nodes, and may automatically associate to a node group that includes nodes that may be used, for example, to establish communication connections for a source node (e.g., a T node) and a target node executing a service.

The G node as the discovered party may indicate its multi-domain capability through an access layer broadcast link, a broadcast group identifier, a medium access control layer (Medium access control layer, MAC) identifier, a UUID (uuid=tbd) of a service (e.g., a redundant communication service, a video service, an image service, etc.) for multi-domain coordination and management, and the like. The G node as the discovery party may perform a multi-domain G device discovery process (e.g., every predetermined scan period) duration) using periodic triggers or complete the multi-domain device discovery process using event triggers. After the multi-domain G device discovery is successfully completed, the G inter-node access layer belonging to the same node group can establish a default bearer, and the basic service layer establishes a transmission channel for service management. As shown in fig. 6, a default bearer is established between the access layers of the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 for transmitting control plane signaling, and a service management transmission channel is established between the basic service layers for transmitting service data. For details of the related implementation, reference may be made to related protocols of the short-range wireless communication technology specified by the star flash alliance, which are not described herein.

(1-2) a multi-domain service discovery phase:

when a default bearer is established between the G nodes at the access layer and a service management transmission channel is established at the base service layer, a multi-domain service discovery process may be performed. Through the multi-domain service discovery process, the G nodes belonging to the same node group can acquire multi-domain attributes of other nodes in the same group, and the multi-domain service capability, the working mode and the G-group association relation are confirmed.

And each G node belonging to the same node group can confirm the multi-domain management node and the member node, and the management node can directly configure the communication domain resources of the member node. Any G node may store a neighbor node information table, which may include, for example, but not limited to, at least one of the following information for the node group to which the G node belongs: group identification; an operating mode; managing node information; member node information; service capability attribute information of the included node; communication domain resource information of the included node, and the like. For details of the related implementation, reference may be made to related protocols of the short-range wireless communication technology specified by the star flash alliance, which are not described herein.

(2) G-T device discovery phase.

Any G node in the G-group can be used as a discovered party to disclose its own information by carrying indication information in a broadcast message or a system message. The broadcast message or system message includes, for example, but is not limited to, the following information: device name, communication address (e.g., including communication domain name, media access control layer identification, etc.), list of identifications of service capabilities supported by the device (including UUID of redundant communication service extended definition), and corresponding service data information describing the service capabilities, etc.

Wherein the content of the service data information describing the redundant communication service may be different in different modes of operation. For example, in the active-standby operation mode, the service data information for describing the redundant communication service of each G node may include at least: group identification of the belonging node group, working identification of the G node, and the like. If the G node adopts an election mode to elect the main node, the working identity mark can be replaced by the round number of the G node for the current election main node. In the multiple active operation mode, the service data information for describing the redundant communication service for each G node may include at least: group identification of the belonging node group, node identification of the G node. It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the frame format of the broadcast message or the system message of the G node is not limited, the UUID for describing the redundant communication service and the service data information may be carried in a field location specified by a protocol, and the relevant implementation details may refer to a relevant protocol of the short-distance wireless communication technology specified by the star-flash alliance, which is not described herein again.

The T node can discover broadcast messages or system messages of a plurality of G nodes through a device discovery mechanism, and acquire group identification, G node identification, advanced G node identification, general G node identification, working identification and the like from the broadcast messages or the system messages of the G nodes.

Specifically, the T node serves as a discovery party, and the G node of interest can be screened according to preset screening information. Illustratively, the screening information may include: media access control layer identification, other device information disclosed by the discovered party, such as group identification, advanced G node identification, general G node identification, work identification, etc.

Therefore, aiming at the working mode of the main node and the standby node, the T node can determine the main node and the standby node in the group according to the screening information. In an alternative implementation manner, if an election manner is adopted, the T node may select a G node with a larger round number to access, and mark the G node as a master node. In the multi-active mode of operation, the T node may access at least two G nodes belonging to the same node group according to the same group identification.

(3) The G-T transmission channel (or communication link) management phase.

According to different working modes of the node group, the transmission channel for service management between G-T can execute the operations of establishment, release, reconfiguration or switching through the connection management functional unit of the basic service layer. The transmission channel between the G node and the T node is an example of a sub-communication link in the embodiment of the present application, and the manner of establishing the transmission channel may be described with reference to the second node 12-1 and the second node 12-2 in fig. 6, which is not described herein.

The detailed procedures of the communication method according to the embodiment of the present application are described below with reference to the G-T transmission channel mode in the active/standby mode and the two G-T transmission channel management modes in the multiple active mode, respectively.

(3-1) G-T transmission channel management mode in active-standby operation mode:

in the primary and standby working modes, the T node initially establishes a transmission channel with the primary G node according to the G-T connection management flow and performs data transmission, and the T node does not establish the transmission channel with the standby G node. And under the condition that the main G node is unavailable, the standby G node needs to switch the main standby state, and the standby node is switched to the main node, so that the data transmission between the T node and the target node is performed instead of the original main G node. As shown in fig. 7, the G-T transmission channel management process in the active/standby operation mode may include the following steps:

s701: at least two G nodes belonging to the same node group, such as a master node and a standby node, serve as discoveree and disclose own identity information through broadcast messages or system messages. The broadcast message or the system message may contain at least one of the following information of the node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing said service capabilities, which service data information may at least comprise: group identification of the node group to which the G node belongs, working identification of the G node, and the like. Accordingly, the T node or other G node may receive the broadcast message or system message, complete the device discovery process, and determine the operational identity of each G node within the same node group.

It should be noted that, S701 is an optional step, which only indicates that in the active-standby operation mode, each G node in the node group may perform the step, so that the G node is found by a T node or other G nodes, and the order of performing S701 by each G node is not limited. In some embodiments, S701 executed by the standby node may be a message with S706, and the standby node may execute this step when determining that the primary node is not available, which is not described herein.

S702: the T node creates a transmission channel (Transport Channel) (or communication link) and generates a Source (Source) channel identification for the transmission channel, denoted src TCID-1.

S703: the T node sends a transmission channel connection establishment request message to the master node, wherein the request message can carry the src TCID-1.

S704: the master node agrees to establish the transmission channel and generates a destination (destination) channel identification for the transmission channel, denoted dst TCID-2.

S705: the master node sends a transport channel connection establishment response message to the T node, which may carry dst TCID-2.

It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the present application, the source channel identifier refers to a transmission channel identifier carried in a request message sent by a requesting party to a responding party, the "source" refers to a transmission direction of a message carrying the channel identifier, that is, sent by the requesting party to the responding party, and is not limited to a source node where the requesting party is data, and similarly, the target channel identifier refers to a transmission channel identifier carried in a response message fed back by the responding party to the requesting party, and the "target" refers to a transmission direction of a message carrying the channel identifier, that is, sent from the responding party to the requesting party, and is not limited to a target node where the responding party is data. The src TCID-1 and the dst TCID-2 represent the identification of the transmission channel established between the two parties.

Meanwhile, the T node may locally maintain TCID mapping information with each G node in the group as communication link information. And the G nodes can send the main and standby heartbeat messages on a multi-domain coordination and management transmission channel, and maintain the main and standby relation. In an alternative implementation, a transverse data backup channel (tcid=tbd) may be established between G nodes according to application service requirements. For example, in a wireless BMS system, G nodes in a G-group are deployed in different BCUs, and periodically synchronize BCU traffic volume data with each other.

When the master node is unavailable (such as MDC shutdown, BCU damage, etc.), the standby node detects that the master node is unavailable based on the master-standby node heartbeat message. At this time, the standby node can be upgraded from a general G node identity to an advanced G node identity and is responsible for G-T air interface transmission resource management. And the standby node needs to perform main and standby state switching so as to switch from the standby node to the main node to replace the original main node for data transmission. In this case, as shown in fig. 7, the G-T transmission channel management procedure in the active/standby operation mode may further include steps performed by the following device access procedure and steps performed by the handover service transmission channel procedure:

S706: the standby node sends a broadcast message or a system message. The broadcast message or the system message may contain indication information, where the indication information may include, for example, a group identifier of a node group to which the standby node belongs and a round number of the standby node for an electing (ranking) master node.

Accordingly, on the one hand, the T node may determine, as the discovery party, whether the standby node may switch the active/standby state based on the received indication information, and in the case where the standby node is allowed to switch the active/standby state, S707: and the T node sends a connection request message to the original and standby nodes to request to establish a communication link with the original and standby nodes, so that the main and standby states are switched for the standby nodes, and the standby nodes are switched to the main node.

On the other hand, in order to prevent the problem of double master nodes, the original master node can also be used as a discovery party to monitor the broadcast message or the system message of the original standby node so as to identify the turn number, and when the turn number sent by the original standby node is found to be higher than the turn number locally maintained by the original standby node, the original master node is actively switched from the master node to the standby node.

S707: and the T node sends a connection request message to the standby node, wherein the connection request message carries connection request information and is used for requesting to access the standby node.

S708: the standby node feeds back a connection response message to the T node, wherein the connection response message carries connection response information and is used for carrying out access response on the T node.

S709: and establishing an asynchronous data link between the T node and the standby node, and performing security access authentication.

S710: the T node creates a transmission channel between the T node and the standby node, and generates a source channel identifier of the transmission channel, which is denoted as src TCID-3.

S711: the T node sends a transmission channel connection establishment request message to the standby node, and the request message can carry the src TCID-3.

S712: the standby node agrees to establish the transmission channel and generates a target channel identification for the transmission channel, denoted dst TCID-4.

S713: the standby node sends a transmission channel connection establishment response message to the T node, wherein the response message can carry dst TCID-4.

S714: the T node adds src TCID-3 and dst TCID-4 in the TCID mapping information maintained locally, and starts to release the service transmission channel with the original master node.

S715: the T node sends a transmission channel release request message to the original master node, wherein the release request message carries dst TCID-2 and is used for indicating to release the transmission channel corresponding to the dst TCID-2.

S716: the original master node releases the transmission channel corresponding to dst TCID-2.

S717: the original master node sends a transmission channel release response message to the T node, wherein the transmission channel release response message is used for indicating that the transmission channel corresponding to dst TCID-2 is released.

S718: and the T node receives the transmission channel release response message from the original master node and releases the transmission channel corresponding to the src TCID-1.

Thus, the primary-standby state switching process is completed between the T node and the primary-standby node.

(3-2) G-T transmission channel management mode in multiple active operation mode:

in the multi-active working mode, the T node and all G nodes (for example, denoted as active_G nodes) in the G-group can establish a transmission channel according to the GT connection management flow, and the TCID mapping information is maintained locally to record the information of the communication links of the T node and each node of the G-group. The traffic data can be transmitted between the T node and the target node through all active_G nodes in a redundant mode, or the T node can flexibly select a certain communication link to transmit the traffic data. In an alternative implementation, a transverse data backup channel (tcid=tbd) may also be established between G nodes according to application service requirements. For example, in a wireless BMS system, G nodes in a G-group are deployed in different BCUs, and periodically synchronize BCU traffic volume data with each other.

In case of unavailability 1: when a certain active_G node is unavailable, the T node can normally send service data to the rest active_G nodes, and normal application is maintained. Meanwhile, the T node deletes TCID information associated with the unavailable communication link from the local TCID mapping information.

In case of unavailability 2: when the service quality of a broken link or a link between the T node and a certain active_g is degraded (for example, in a multi-G deployment scenario such as a factory, a family, a street, etc.), the T node may normally send service data to the remaining active_g nodes, so as to maintain normal application. Meanwhile, the T node deletes TCID mapping information associated with the unavailable communication link from the local TCID mapping information.

Taking two active_gnodes (denoted as active_g1 node and active_g2 node, and also simply referred to as G1 node and G2 node) as an example in one G-group, as shown in fig. 8, the G-T transmission channel management process in the multiple active operation mode may include the following steps:

s801: at least two G nodes belonging to the same node group, such as G1 node and G2 node, serve as discoveree, and disclose own identity information through broadcast message or system message. The broadcast message or the system message may contain at least one of the following information of the node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing said service capabilities, which service data information may at least comprise: group identification of the node group to which the G node belongs, working identification of the G node, and the like. Accordingly, the T node or other G node may receive the broadcast message or system message, complete the device discovery process, and determine the operational identity of each G node within the same node group.

S802: the T node creates a transmission channel with the G1 node, and generates a source channel identifier of the transmission channel, which is denoted as src TCID-1.

S803: the T node sends a transmission channel connection establishment request message to the G1 node, wherein the request message can carry the src TCID-1.

S804: the G1 node agrees to establish the transmission channel and generates a target channel identification for the transmission channel, denoted dst TCID-2.

S805: the G1 node sends a transmission channel connection establishment response message to the T node, wherein the response message can carry dst TCID-2.

S806: the T node creates a transmission channel with the G2 node, and generates a source channel identifier of the transmission channel, which is denoted as src TCID-3.

S807: the T node sends a transmission channel connection establishment request message to the G2 node, wherein the request message can carry the src TCID-3.

S808: the G2 node agrees to establish the transmission channel and generates a target channel identification for the transmission channel, denoted dst TCID-4.

S809: the G2 node sends a transmission channel connection establishment response message to the T node, where the response message may carry dst TCID-4.

Thus, the T node and the two active_G nodes in the G-group establish corresponding service transmission channels. It should be understood that the process of establishing the transmission channel between the T node and the two G nodes may be performed synchronously, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Wherein, as described above, in the multi-active operation mode, the T node may select at least one communication link for data transmission with the target node. Depending on whether the selected at least one communication link specifically comprises all or not all communication links of the T node and all G nodes in the node group, in the multiple active mode of operation shown in (3-2), S809 may be followed by different implementation steps, such as shown in the following (3-2-1) scheme and the (3-2-2) scheme, for data transmission between the second communication link and the target node.

In a possible implementation manner (3-2-1), as shown in fig. 8, S809 may further include the following steps shown in S810-S815:

s810: and the T node performs data transmission with the target node through a plurality of transmission channels based on the relation between the T node and two active_G nodes in the G-group.

When the G1 node is unavailable or the G1-T link is unavailable, the T node releases the communication link with the G1 node, and the method comprises the following steps of:

s811: the T node updates the locally maintained TCID mapping information, deletes src TCID-1 and dst TCID-2, and begins to release the corresponding transport channels.

S812: the T node sends a transmission channel release request message tTCID-2 to the G1 node for indicating release of dst TCID-2.

S813: the G1 node releases the transmission channel corresponding to dst TCID-2.

S814: and the G1 node sends a transmission channel release response message to the T node, and the transmission channel release response message is used for indicating that the transmission channel corresponding to the dst TCID-2 is released.

S815: and the T node receives the transmission channel release response message of the G1 node and releases the transmission channel corresponding to the src TCID-1.

In another possible implementation manner (3-2-2), as shown in fig. 9, S809 may further include the following steps shown in S816-S822:

s816: the T node performs redundant transmission through a selected (or at least one) transmission channel, such as selecting a transmission channel corresponding to src TCID-1 and dst TCID-2, based on a service transmission channel established between two active_g nodes in the G-group. Other unselected transmission channels are idle.

When the G1 node is unavailable or the G1-T link is unavailable, the T node and the G1 node release the unavailable communication link, and the method comprises the following steps:

s817: the T node switches the traffic data to other transmission channels not selected for use in S816, for example, the transmission channels corresponding to src TCID-3 and dst TCID-4.

S818: the T node adds the src TCID-3 and the dst TCID-4 in the TCID mapping information maintained locally, deletes the src TCID-1 and the dst TCID-2, and starts to release the corresponding transmission channels of the src TCID-1 and the dst TCID-2.

S819: the T node sends a transmission channel release request message frame to the G1 node, carrying dst TCID-2, and is used for indicating to release the transmission channel corresponding to the dst TCID-2.

S820: the G1 node releases the transmission channel corresponding to dst TCID-2.

S821: and the G1 node sends a transmission channel release response message to the T node, and the transmission channel release response message is used for indicating that the transmission channel corresponding to the dst TCID-2 is released.

S822: and the T node receives the transmission channel release response message of the G1 node and releases the transmission channel corresponding to the src TCID-1.

Thus, by the above method, the communication node of the communication system may be abstracted into a redundant communication networking architecture, in which a first communication link between a first node and a target node may have a redundant communication link, such as a second communication link, where the node included in the first communication link and the node included in the second communication link may be different or not identical. When the first communication link has an unavailability problem, for example, a certain node included in the first communication link is unavailable or a certain sub communication link of the first communication link is unavailable, the first node can utilize the second communication link to continue data transmission, so that the reliability of the whole communication system is improved.

It should be noted that, in the schemes shown in (3-1), (3-2-1) and (3-2-2), the lateral data backup may also be performed between different G nodes belonging to the same node group. For example, in the active/standby mode, when the first node performs data transmission based on the first communication link and the target node, the transmitted data may be synchronized to the standby node via the heartbeat message sent by the active node, so as to perform data backup on the transmitted data at the standby node. In the multi-active working mode, the data transmitted between any active node and the target node by the first node can be sent to other active nodes of the target node group to which the active node belongs so as to carry out data backup on the transmitted data. In the embodiment of the present application, a third communication technology may be adopted between the nodes belonging to the target node group, and the third communication technology may be a wired communication technology or a third wireless communication technology.

Method example 1:

the embodiment of the application also provides a communication method which can be realized by the first node, the second node, the third node and the target node. In this method example 1, the first node represents the T node in the methods shown in fig. 7-9, the second node represents the master node or the active node detected as unavailable in the methods shown in fig. 7-9, and the third node represents the standby node or the active node available in the methods shown in fig. 7-9.

As shown in fig. 10, the method may include the steps of:

s1010: the first node communicates data with the target node based on the first communication link. Wherein the first communication link may include a second node.

S1020: the first node determines whether the first communication link is unavailable. This step is optional. The first node may learn whether the first communication link is available in any way.

Wherein the first communication link comprises a sub-communication link between the first node and the second node, a sub-communication link between the second node and the target node. The first communication link being unavailable may include any of: the second node is not available; in the first communication link, a sub-communication link between the first node and the second node is not available; in the first communication link, a sub-communication link between the second node and the target node is not available.

S1030: the first node performs data transmission with the target node based on a second communication link different from the first communication link in a case where it is determined that the first communication link is not available.

The second communication link is a redundant communication link of the first communication link, and nodes included in the first communication link and the second communication link are not identical. For example, the first communication link may include the first node and the target node in addition to the second node. The second communication link may include the first node and the target node, and in addition, the second communication link may further include a third node. The third node and the second node are different nodes belonging to the target node group. It will be appreciated that the target node group does not include a first node and a target node, and that the target node group includes nodes that may be used to establish a communication connection for the first node and the target node.

The operation mode of the target node group may include any one of the following: a primary and a secondary working mode or a multiple-active working mode. In different working modes, different nodes contained in the target node group can provide at least one communication link between the first node and the target node, and according to the working mode of the target node group or the working identity of the node contained in the target node, data transmission or redundant transmission can be performed between the first node and the target node based on the at least one communication link, so that service continuity is ensured.

In the embodiment of the present application, the specific implementation process of S1010-S1030 may be different in different operation modes of the target node group.

For example, in the active/standby mode, the second node is the active node and the third node is the standby node. Before implementing S1030, the first node may receive first indication information from the third node, where the first indication information is used to request to switch the active/standby state for the third node; and the first node sends a connection request message to the third node according to the first indication information under the condition that the third node is allowed to be switched from the standby node to the main node, wherein the connection request message is used for requesting to establish a sub-communication link between the first node and the third node, and the second communication link comprises the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node. Accordingly, the third node may receive the connection request message from the first node, and feed back a connection response message to the first node to establish a sub-communication link between the first node and the third node. Further, the first node updates locally maintained communication link information based on the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node, and releases the sub-communication link between the first node and the second node.

It is understood that the number of standby nodes in the same node group may be at least one, and the third node may be any one of the at least one standby nodes. The first node may determine, according to first indication information from at least one standby node, a standby node capable of switching to a master node, and send a connection request message to the standby node to establish a sub-communication link with the standby node.

It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the standby nodes in the target node group may switch the active/standby states in an election manner. Based on the election mode, the first indication information from the standby node may include a group identifier of a target node group to which the standby node belongs and a round number of the standby node for an election master node, and the first node may determine the target node group to which the standby node belongs according to the group identifier. In an optional implementation manner, the first indication information may be included in a broadcast message or a system message from the standby node, where the broadcast message or the system message may further include at least one of the following information of the standby node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities. Detailed implementation can be found in the related description above, and will not be repeated here.

For another example, in the multi-active mode of operation, prior to implementing S1010, the first node may receive second indication information from at least two nodes of the target node group, the at least two nodes including the second node and the third node, the second indication information may include a group identification of the node group to which the node belongs and a node identification of the node. The first node may establish a sub-communication link with the at least two nodes according to the second indication information. Meanwhile, the first node may further store communication link information (e.g., the TCIP mapping information table mentioned above) of the first node according to availability of sub-communication links between the first node and the at least two nodes.

In implementing S1010, the communication link of the first node may include at least one communication link, each communication link including a sub-communication link that the first node may establish with one node of the target node group based on which the first node may communicate data with the target node. Alternatively, the communication link of the first node may be a communication link comprising a sub-communication link established between the first node and at least two nodes of the target node group (e.g. a sub-communication link between the second node and the first node), and the first node may perform data transmission with the target node based on the first communication link.

In the event that the second node is unavailable, a sub-communication link between the first node and the second node is unavailable, or a sub-communication link between the second node and the target node is unavailable, the first node may communicate data with the target node based on the sub-communication link (included in the second communication link) between the first node and the third node. Meanwhile, the first node may also update the communication link information of the first node based on the availability of the sub communication link between the first node and the second node, and the availability of the sub communication link between the first node and the third node, for example, delete the link information of the sub communication link between the first node and the second node.

In an alternative implementation, the sub-communication link between the first node and the second node may employ a wired communication technology or a first wireless communication technology. In another alternative implementation, the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node may employ a second wireless communication technology. The first wireless communication technology and the second wireless communication technology may be the same or different, for example, when the first wireless communication technology and the second wireless communication technology are the same, they may be short-range wireless communication technologies specified by the star flash alliance.

Details of the implementation may be found in the related description above, and are not described herein.

Method example 2:

the embodiment of the application also provides a communication method which can be realized by the first node, the second node, the third node and the target node. In example 2 of the method, the first node represents a standby node or an available active node in the methods shown in fig. 7-9, the second node represents a master node or an active node detected as unavailable in the methods shown in fig. 7-9, and the third node represents the first node in the methods shown in fig. 7-9.

As shown in fig. 11, the method may include the steps of:

s1110: the first node determines at least two nodes included in a target node group to which the first node belongs.

In the embodiment of the application, the relation between the nodes and the node group can be preconfigured, and different nodes can perform the device discovery process according to the configuration information of the nodes by broadcasting the message or the system message so as to determine whether the nodes belong to the same node group.

In one example, different nodes belonging to the same node group may be configured to associate the same group identification. In implementation S1110, the method specifically includes the following steps: the method comprises the steps that a first node receives first indication information from at least one node, wherein the first indication information of each node is used for indicating a group identifier of a node group to which the node belongs; the first node may determine at least one node belonging to the target node group with the first node according to the group identifier in the first indication information.

It should be understood that associating different nodes of the same node group based on group identification is merely an example of one configuration implementation and not any limitation. In other embodiments, the different nodes may also implement group association based on other information, such as service identification, location information, etc., which will not be described in detail herein.

Optionally, the first indication information of each node may be further used to indicate a service capability of the node, and in implementing S1110, an identity negotiation process may be further performed between the nodes belonging to the same node group, so as to negotiate and determine an operation mode of the node group and an operation identity of each node in the node group. For example, the first node may perform a service discovery operation with a fourth node of the target node group according to service capabilities of at least two nodes included in the target node group, where the fourth node includes nodes of the target node group other than the first node, and determine an operation mode of the target node group.

The nodes comprised by the node group may be used to establish communication connections for nodes outside the group. In the case that the working mode of the node group and the identity of each node in the node group are determined, different nodes included in the node group can build links with nodes outside the group (such as a third node and a target node) and perform data transmission according to requirements.

S1120: and the first node performs data transmission between a third node and the target node based on a first communication link under the condition that a second node in the at least two nodes is unavailable according to the working mode of the target node group, wherein the second node comprises a second communication link which is different from the first communication link and is arranged between the third node and the target node.

The first communication link is a redundant communication link of the second communication link, and nodes included in the first communication link and the second communication link are not identical. For example, the second communication link may include a third node and a target node in addition to the second node. The first communication link may include the third node and the target node, and in addition, the first communication link may include the first node. The first node and the second node are different nodes belonging to a target node group. It should be appreciated that the target node group does not include a third node and a target node.

The mode of operation of the target node group may include any of the following: a primary and a secondary working mode and a multiple-active working mode.

When the working mode is the active/standby working mode, the second node is the active node, and the first node is the standby node, and when S1120 is implemented, the first node may send second indication information to the third node when the second node of the at least two nodes is unavailable, where the second indication information is used to request to switch the active/standby state for the first node. Accordingly, the third node may send a connection request message to the first node to request establishment of a communication link with the first node when it is determined to allow the first node to switch the active/standby state. The first node may receive a connection request message from the third node and feed back a connection response message to establish a communication link between the first node and the third node. Alternatively, the standby nodes in the target node group may switch the active-standby state in an election manner, and the second indication information may include a group identifier of the target node group and a round number of the first node for electing the active node. Optionally, the second indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message of the first node, where the broadcast message or the system message of the first node further includes at least one of the following information of the first node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities. Details of the downward implementation can be found in the related description above, and are not described herein.

In the case that the operation mode is the multiple active operation mode, before implementing S1120, the first node may send, as any available node in the target node group, third indication information to the third node, where the third indication information is used to request to establish a communication link. Optionally, the third indication information includes a group identification of the target node group and a node identification of the first node. Optionally, the third indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message of the first node, where the broadcast message or the system message of the first node further includes at least one of the following information of the first node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities. In case a second node of the at least two nodes is not available, the first node may receive a release request message from a third node for indicating the sub-communication link to be released. The first node may perform a release operation according to a release request message from the third node to release an unavailable sub-communication link, such as a sub-communication link between the second node and the third node.

In an alternative implementation, the sub-communication link between the second node and the third node employs a first communication technology, which may be a wired communication technology or a first wireless communication technology. In another alternative implementation, the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node employs a second communication technology, which may be a second wireless communication technology. The first wireless communication technology and the second wireless communication technology may be the same or different, for example, when the first wireless communication technology and the second wireless communication technology are the same, they may be short-range wireless communication technologies specified by the star flash alliance.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which is configured to execute the communication method executed by the first node or any one of the second nodes in the above method embodiment, and related features may be referred to the above method embodiment, which is not described herein again.

As shown in fig. 12, the apparatus 1200 may be configured to perform a communication method performed by a first node, which may be a first node in the system shown in fig. 1, 2a, 2b and 3 described above. Wherein apparatus 1200 may comprise: a communication unit 1201, configured to perform data transmission with a target node based on a first communication link, where the first communication link includes a second node; and in the case that the first communication link is unavailable, carrying out data transmission with the target node based on a second communication link different from the first communication link, wherein the second communication link comprises a third node different from the second node, the second node and the third node belong to a target node group, and the nodes contained in the target node group are used for establishing communication connection for the first node and the target node. For specific implementation, please refer to the detailed description in the embodiments shown in fig. 1 to 11, and the detailed description is omitted here.

As shown in fig. 13, the apparatus 1300 may be configured to perform a method performed by a first node, which may be any of the second nodes in the systems shown in fig. 1, 2a, 2b and 3 described above. The apparatus 1300 may include: a determining unit 1301, configured to determine at least two nodes included in a target node group to which the first node belongs; a communication unit 1302, configured to perform data transmission between a third node and a target node based on a first communication link when a second node of the at least two nodes is unavailable according to an operation mode of the target node group, where the second node includes a second communication link different from the first communication link between the third node and the target node, and at least two nodes of the target node group are configured to establish a communication connection for the third node and the target node. For specific implementation, please refer to the detailed description in the embodiments shown in fig. 1 to 11, and the detailed description is omitted here.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the units is schematic, which is merely a logic function division, and other division manners may be implemented in actual practice. The functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in software functional units.

The integrated units, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as stand-alone products, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied in essence or a part contributing to some solution or all or part of the technical solution in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, including several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a random access Memory (RAM, random Access Memory), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.

In a simple embodiment, a person skilled in the art will appreciate that the communication device in the above embodiment may take the form shown in fig. 14.

The apparatus 1400, as shown in fig. 14, includes at least one processor 1410, a memory 1420, and optionally, a communication interface 1430.

The specific connection medium between the processor 1410 and the memory 1420 is not limited in this embodiment.

In the apparatus of fig. 14, the processor 1410 may perform data transmission through the communication interface 1430 when communicating with other devices.

When the communications apparatus takes the form shown in fig. 14, the processor 1410 in fig. 14 can cause the apparatus 1400 to perform the method performed by the communications apparatus in any of the method embodiments described above by invoking computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 1420.

The embodiments of the application also relate to a chip system comprising a processor for invoking a computer program or computer instructions stored in a memory to cause the processor to perform a method as in any of the method embodiments described above.

In one possible implementation, the processor is coupled to the memory through an interface.

In one possible implementation, the system on a chip further includes a memory having a computer program or computer instructions stored therein.

Embodiments of the present application also relate to a computer readable storage medium having stored therein a program code which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform a method as in any of the method embodiments described above.

Embodiments of the application also relate to a computer program product for causing a computer to perform the method of any of the method embodiments described above when said computer program product is run on the computer.

Embodiments of the application also relate to a processor for invoking a computer program or computer instructions stored in a memory to cause the processor to perform a method as in any of the method embodiments described above.

The processor referred to in any of the foregoing may be a general purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to control program execution of the methods of any of the foregoing method embodiments. The memory mentioned in any of the above may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (random access memory, RAM), etc.

It should be appreciated that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims and the equivalents thereof, the present application is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication link is not available characterized by at least one of:

the second node is not available;

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation mode of the target node group is a master-slave operation mode, the method further comprising:

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the first indication information comprises a group identification of the target group of nodes and a turn number of the third node for the electing master node.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the first indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message from the third node, the broadcast message or the system message further comprising at least one of the following information of the third node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation mode of the target node group is a multi-active operation mode, and wherein the first node is further configured to:

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second indication information from each of the at least two nodes includes a group identification of the target group of nodes and a node identification of the node.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the second indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message from the node, which further comprises at least one of the following information of the node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, further comprising:

10. The method according to any of claims 1-9, wherein the sub-communication link between the first node and the second node employs a first communication technology, the first communication technology being a wired communication technology or a first wireless communication technology.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node employs a second communication technology, the second communication technology being a second wireless communication technology different from the first wireless communication technology.

12. A method of communication, comprising:

the first node performs data transmission between a third node and a target node based on a first communication link under the condition that a second node in the at least two nodes is unavailable according to the working mode of the target node group;

Wherein the second node comprises a second communication link, different from the first communication link, between the third node and the target node, at least two nodes of the target node group being configured to establish a communication connection for the third node and the target node.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first node determines at least two nodes included in a target node group to which the first node belongs, comprising:

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first indication information is further used to indicate a service capability of the node, the method further comprising:

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

16. The method according to any one of claims 12-15, further comprising:

17. The method according to any of claims 12-16, wherein the target node group's operating mode is a primary-standby operating mode, the method further comprising:

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the second indication information includes a group identification of the target group of nodes and a round number of the first node for the electing master node.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the second indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message of the first node, the broadcast message or the system message of the first node further comprising at least one of the following information of the first node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

20. The method according to any of claims 12-16, wherein the target node group operating mode is a multi-active operating mode, the method further comprising:

the first node sends third indication information to the third node, wherein the third indication information is used for requesting to establish a communication link.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the third indication information includes a group identification of the target group of nodes and a node identification of the first node.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the third indication information is included in a broadcast message or a system message of the first node, the broadcast message or the system message of the first node further comprising at least one of the following information of the first node: device name, communication address, identification of supported service capabilities, or service data information describing the service capabilities.

23. The method according to any of claims 12-22, wherein the sub-communication link between the second node and the third node employs a first communication technology, the first communication technology being a wired communication technology or a first wireless communication technology.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the sub-communication link between the first node and the third node employs a second communication technology, the second communication technology being a second wireless communication technology different from the first wireless communication technology.

25. A communication device, comprising:

26. A communication device, comprising:

27. A communication system, wherein the system comprises a first node, a second node, a third node and a target node, the second node and the third node belong to a target node group, and the target node group comprises nodes for establishing communication connection for the first node and the target node;

28. A communication device comprising at least one processor and interface circuitry for providing data or code instructions to the at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1-11 or the method of any one of claims 12-24 by logic circuitry or execution of the code instructions.

29. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer readable storage medium has stored therein a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to any of claims 1-11 or to perform the method according to any of claims 12-24.

30. Terminal device, characterized by being arranged to implement the method according to any of the claims 1-11 or to implement the method according to any of the claims 12-24.